1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate processing system for sequentially performing various processes or treatments on a thin substrate such as a semi-conductor wafer, liquid crystal substrate and the like, and more particularly it relates to a substrate processing system for manufacturing a semi-conductor element wherein circuit patterns are formed on a semi-conductor wafer.
2. Related Background Art
In the past, in processes for manufacturing a semi-conductor element, particularly, in lithography processes for forming circuit patterns of elements on a semi-conductor wafer (referred to merely as "wafer" hereinafter), a substrate processing or treating system comprising a resist processing apparatus (referred to as "coater-developer" hereinafter) mainly including a plurality of wafer processing devices, and an exposing apparatus of step-and-repeat contraction scale projection type (i.e., a wafer-stepper referred to merely as "stepper" hereinafter) has been used. In this system, the wafer is conveyed only in one direction through the system by means of a conveying apparatus such as a belt conveyor and the like to undergo various processes or treatments, and the processed wafer has circuit patterns of a mask or reticle (referred to generically as "reticle" hereinafter) formed thereon. However, recently, a line width of the circuit patterns to be transferred onto the wafer has been requested to be in the order to sub-microns, and a positive type resist which has higher resolving power than that of a negative type resist and is fragile and hydrophobic and is sensitive to developing treatment conditions (for example, temperature and/or density of liquid developer and the like) has been used. Consequently, unless the wafer is processed by means of all of the apparatuses constituting the substrate processing system at an optimum pattern forming condition, the semi-conductor element having a desired feature cannot be obtained. Thus, in the substrate processing system of this kind, the coater-developer and the stepper are constituted as inline type, and further, before the coater-developer is applied to the resist, various processing conditions regarding the resist applying process and developing process and care of the wafer are controlled by a microcomputer and the like. In this case, in order to process or treat the wafer at the optimum pattern forming condition by means of such substrate processing system, it is necessary to determine the optimum forming condition at the initiation of operation of the substrate processing system. To this end, first of all, a test reticle pattern is formed on the wafer at a predetermined condition which has been previously inputted or stored at the initiation of operation of the system, the wafer is manually transported to an inspection device where the formed condition or state of the test reticle pattern is checked or detected. A line width of the test reticle pattern and the like are measured by the inspection device, and the optimum forming condition is determined on the basis of the measured value and a desired value for the test reticle pattern previously inputted. Next, the determined optimum forming condition is fed back to the microcomputer and the like for wholly controlling the coater-developer thereby setting the forming condition regarding the respective wafer processing apparatuses such as a developing apparatus constituting the coater-developer.
By using the substrate processing system in which the forming condition has been set in the above-mentioned manner, a circuit pattern for a semi-conductor device is sequentially formed on the wafer.
However, in such conventional substrate processing system comprising the coater-developer and the stepper, the substrate processing system itself and the inspection device were not constituted as inline type, and thus, there arose a problem that the circuit pattern formed on the wafer had a defect due to generation of dust and the like. Further there was a further problem that through-put was decreased since it took a long time to set the forming condition of the respective wafer processing apparatuses constituting the coater-developer. In addition, if the substrate processing system and the inspection device were constituted as the inline type, there arose a problem that the substrate processing system would be large-sized, complex and expensive.